I'll Catch You (On the Other Side)
by stealingthestars
Summary: "Mr. Stark..." He turns around to see Peter, one hand clutching his stomach and eyes wide with fear, "I don't feel so good." / Spoilers for Infinity War / Rated T for language


**so...i had a lot of feels after watching infinity war. specifically, tony stark and peter parker feels. major spoiler warning, and rated T for swearing. enjoy :)**

* * *

All Tony can do is watch as half the universe falls apart.

He watches as the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy turn to dust, watches as Strange-insufferable, brave, a _hero-_ fades into nothing but ashes in the wind. And then-

"Mr. Stark..." He turns around to see Peter, one hand clutching his stomach and eyes wide with fear, "I don't feel so good."

No.

Dammit, _no._ He could lose everything else; Thanos could kill him, for all he cared, but not Peter. For god's sake, _not Peter._

"You're alright," he says immediately. Of course he's alright-he _has_ to be alright. There is _no way_ that Peter can die-not here, not now. Not like this.

"I don't-I don't know what's happening, I-"

Peter stumbles and pitches forward, collapsing into Tony and oh god, he can _feel_ him crumbling in his arms. No, no no-

His arms cling to Tony, frantically, desperately, and they both know what's coming and Tony has _no idea how to stop it._

"I don't want to go." Peter's voice catches with a sob. "I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, please-please, I don't want to go-"

He sounds scared _,_ utterly terrified, _broken._ He's pleading for his life and he's dying-he's _dying_ and Tony doesn't know how to save him, can't do anything but watch as he falls apart in his arms.

 _"I don't want to go."_

"Peter-" He's still holding him as Peter's legs give way and fade into dust and the two of them fall to the ground.

Peter looks at him, eyes wide with desperation and fear, and Tony swears that he's never looked more seventeen than he does in that moment. He's just a _kid_ , a kid who hasn't even graduated high school, who hasn't even fallen in love or seen the world or lived long enough to die here. A kid that Tony told himself he would always keep safe.

He thinks of the promise he made back in space. _I'll catch you._

But he's not sure how much longer he can hold on.

Peter takes a breath-Tony tries _so damn hard_ not to wonder if it's his last. And then resignation passes over the teenager's face; and that, Tony thinks, might be the worst part-Peter knows exactly what's happening, he can _feel it happening,_ he can feel his body decimating and he _doesn't deserve to die like this._

He's just a kid, a hero, trying to save the universe. He doesn't deserve to die at all.

"I'm sorry," Peter whispers.

No. No, no, no _no no_ -

Skin turns to dust beneath his fingertips. Tony clutches blindly at the ground but there's nothing to hold onto anymore, nothing but ash and dust where _his kid should be._

Peter is gone.

Oh god, _no._

Peter, with his bright eyes and his pop culture references and his goddamn hero complex and that smile that the world has done nothing to deserve-

Peter is gone, and he's alone on a wasteland of a planet, surrounded by the remnants of a battle that they've lost. He's alone, and it was his life at the cost of everyone else's and now there's _nothing left_.

He's alone, and alive, and he wishes he wasn't.

Because _Peter is gone._

In that moment, Tony makes a promise to himself. He stands over the scattered remains of a seventeen-year-old hero he could've called his son and makes a promise, one that he intends to keep no matter what happens.

Peter is gone, and Thanos-

Thanos is going to _die_ for this.

* * *

When it all ends, there's only one thing that Tony can think about.

Around him, his friends and his allies find each other again-Steve with his arms tight around Bucky, Shuri tackling T'challa in a hug, Natasha pressing Wanda close to her chest and Rhodey with his arm over Sam's shoulders.

But Tony can't find Peter, and it feels like he can't breathe. Like something is sitting on his chest, keeping him from doing something as rudimentary and simple as taking in air, like somehow he's drowning, drowning on dry land-

"Mr. Stark?"

He looks up.

And then Peter is there, and all the oxygen comes rushing back into his lungs. Peter is there and there's a moment when Tony can't move, can't say anything or do anything but stare at this kid, _his kid._

"Mr. Stark, I'm-"

But he never gets a chance to finish.

Because this time, it's Tony who initiates the hug. It's Tony who surges forward and takes Peter into his arms and clings to him like a lifeline, it's Tony who runs his fingers through Peter's hair and wets his clothes with tears.

"God, kid, don't ever-" And then his voice breaks and he can't even find the words to be angry, to scold Peter for coming into space with them and disobeying his orders and _dying in his arms,_ because his kid is solid and tangible and _real_ and right now he can't think of a single other thing that matters.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I'm so-" Peter begins to say, his voice on the verge of breaking.

Tony shakes his head furiously, tugs the boy closer to his chest-like that's even possible-and swallows the sob that rises in his throat. "No, Peter, you have nothing to be sorry for. You did so well, okay? I'm so proud of you."

Then Peter's body shakes against his, and Tony thinks about this seventeen-year-old boy, this kid, _his kid,_ and how he's stared death in the face and how the universe is so, _so_ unfair.

"It's okay, Peter," he says. It might never be entirely okay again, but god, Peter is alive and he's home and Tony will be damned if he lets anything happen to his kid ever again. "It's okay," he says again. He hears Peter sob against his chest. "I've got you," he breathes. "You're gonna be okay."

He's finally caught Peter, and this time, he's never letting go.


End file.
